Overreaction Monday: 49ers are as obvious of a Super Bowl loss hangover as it gets

The San Francisco 49ers won the NFC for the second time in the last five years, but were Patrick Mahomes'd for the second time in that Super Bowl. Mahomes led the Kansas City Chiefs to a Super Bowl win over the Niners. and things haven't exactly gone well since.

The Brandon Aiyuk saga has dominated the headlines this offseason. The Niners might still be able to reach an agreement with him, but it's anybody's best guess as to what happens with the star wideout at this point.

Aiyuk has been in the spotlight, but he's not the only Niner in contract peril. Trent Williams, their star left tackle, has been holding out looking for a new contract of his own. ESPN's Jeremy Fowler is reporting that if no new deal is reached before the regular season, Williams might be willing to sit out Week 1. Any game he'd miss would be bad news for the Niners, and could add to reasons why 2024 might not be their year.

49ers appear headed for Super Bowl loss hangover amid unwanted drama

The best-case scenario for the Niners is that they can reach deals with Aiyuk and Williams, two of their best players, sooner rather than later, but how realistic is that? Based on how things have gone, it's hard to say that their chances of accomplishing that are all that great.

Let's forget about the Niners drama for a second. The rest of the NFC might have improved too, making their path that much more difficult.

In their own division, Aaron Donald might be gone, but Cooper Kupp is now healthy for the Los Angeles Rams. The NFC North is suddenly loaded, with the Chicago Bears drafting Caleb Williams who gets to play with a ton of weapons, and the Detroit Lions who might be the favorites in the entire NFC. Don't forget the Green Bay Packers and Jordan Love, too.

The NFC East might have gotten better too, with the Philadelphia Eagles adding Saquon Barkley and revamping their coaching staff, and the Dallas Cowboys finally agreed to a deal with CeeDee Lamb. Even the Atlanta Falcons might be a threat with Kirk Cousins under center.

Obviously, the 49ers are as talented as any team in the NFL. Obviously, they're going to be in the mix in some capacity. Still, the fact that two of their best players are massive question marks for Week 1 and that the NFC might be better than it was last year are two factors that go against them. Those aren't even including the Christian McCaffrey Madden cover curse and the history of what happened the last time the Niners made it to the Super Bowl (it wasn't pretty).

All Niners fans can do right now is cross their fingers and hope for the best.